Sealing fluids for fast repair of inflatable articles are known, can be fed into the article for repair by means of compressed air, e.g. using a compressor, penetrate inside any holes or slits in the article, and set upon contact with air, thus rapidly sealing the article.
Such liquids are widely used for fast tyre repair, to which the following description refers for the sake of clarity and purely by way of example.
Vehicle spare wheels pose a number of well-known problems, not least of which are their considerable size and weight.
More specifically, if the wheel is housed inside the vehicle, normally in a compartment to the side of or beneath the boot, the capacity of the boot is greatly reduced, and the tyre is difficult to remove, especially when the boot is full.
Conversely, if stowed outside the vehicle, normally in a compartment beneath the floor, or attached to the rear door, the wheel can easily be stolen and is still not easy to remove.
Given the good road conditions in most countries, punctures are now rare, so that changing a wheel can prove extremely difficult, if not impossible, on account of the bolts being locked tight, and in any case is awkward by being performed in critical conditions (traffic, poor lighting, bad weather). Considerable advantage is to be gained, therefore, by replacing the spare wheel with a repair and inflation kit comprising a small compressor and a container of sealing liquid, which can be stowed easily in a special compartment or in the boot of the car.
In addition to the big reduction in size and weight, puncture repair is also made faster and easier: as opposed to changing the wheel, the compressor is simply connected to a current outlet on the vehicle, the container of sealing liquid is connected to the compressor and to the valve of the tyre for repair, and the compressor is started to feed the liquid into the tyre. For this purpose, the container normally has a dispenser unit comprising an inlet conduit and an outlet conduit connected respectively, by respective conduits, to the compressor and the valve of the tyre for repair.
In one known solution, the container is fitted permanently to the dispenser unit, which incorporates a sealing device. The container, in itself open, is therefore undetachable from the dispenser unit.
A major drawback of this solution is that, after use or when the use-by date of the sealing liquid expires, both the container and the dispenser unit must be replaced, thus increasing cost.
In another known solution, the container itself is sealed, e.g. by a sealing membrane, which is split when the container is fitted to the dispenser unit. This means the container must be fitted to the dispenser unit just prior to use, which constitutes an undesirable additional operation.